Landscape Architecture Program Celebrates 125 Years
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EmailThe School of Planning, Design and Construction’s Landscape Architecture program commemorated their 125th “LAnniversary” on Friday October 6, 2023.
Michigan State University’s School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) is proud to be home to the world’s oldest landscape architecture program. Founded in 1898, this year marked the program’s 125th anniversary. Accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB), the program balances ideology, design, technology, art and science toward creating a resilient world. Faculty blend teaching, research and engagement to build new knowledge and advance the LA profession.
To commemorate the occasion the program celebrated its “LAnniversary” on October 6, 2023 in conjunction with the Landscape Architecture Alumni & Advisory Board (LAAAB) as well as numerous gracious private sponsors. The LAnniversary events included a campus tour led by LA alumni, Stephen Troost (class of 1982) and Dave Wilber (class of 1997) that highlighted campus developments. Alumni Bob Chipman (class of 1981) and Danny Bulemore (class of 2009) guided a sketch crawl, where students and alumni were welcomed to sketch on-the-spot at some of campus’s most idyllic environments such as the W.J. Beal Botanical Gardens and Beaumont Tower.
Event attendees were invited to join and listen to two alumni discussion panel sessions. Students and alumni heard program updates and accolades from Dr. Jun-Hyun Kim, program director; Dr. Rene Hinojosa, interim school director; Dr. Kelly Millenbah, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Dr. Teresa Woodruff, interim university president. The evening culminated in a dinner at the MSU Student Union Ballroom and the keynote presentation, “The Landscape of Future History,” from LAAAB Distinguished Speaker, David A. Rubin, PLA, FASLA, FAAR. Rubin is the founding principal of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning studio committed to practicing socially-purposeful design.
The successful celebration could not have been possible without the dedicated work of SPDC’s faculty and staff, the commitment of the Landscape Architecture Alumni & Advisory Board, and the generous donations of the many sponsorship donors, including: $3,000 from Keynote Sponsor; Landscape Forms (landscapeforms.com), $1,500 from Reception Sponsors; Polycor (polycor.com) and Hagenbuch Weikal (kw-la.com), $1,000 from Lunch Sponsor; Anova Furnishings (anovafurnishings.com), and $500 from Breakfast and Break Sponsors; Romex USA (romex.us), Cheryl Zuellig & Ken Polakowski, VIRIDIS Design Group (virdg.com), Beckett & Reader (bria2.com), SmithGroup (smithgroup.com), TowerPinkster (towerpinkster.com), Hamilton-Anderson (hamilton-anderson.com), PEA Group (peagroup.com), Michael J. Dul & Associates, Inc. (mjdul.com), MCSA Group, Inc. (mcsagroup.com), Zaremba & Company (zarembaandco.com), and Bill & Dan Wenk.
